NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Sep 17, 2014) - Acclaimed contemporary artist Marc Dennis has made a name for himself as a shrewd satirist of contemporary culture, seeing life through the often skewed meta-lens of the modern art establishment. He is widely recognized for his carefully composed, self-reflective paintings, which drip with irony and take a critical jab at society though such tableaus as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader standing pert and perplexed in front of a Picasso. Dennis' latest series entitled "A$$holes on Cell Phones" turns his acidic vision towards the publicly-banal reality of oh-so many cell phone conversations. His drawings force the viewer into the role of an unintentional eavesdropper, drawn into the life of a person they would rather know less about than what they already know. The exhibition runs from August 29 to September 20, 2014 at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Located in the Historic Railyard District of Santa Fe, the gallery is one of the most unique architectural spaces in the city, with a historic exterior that reveals a cutting-edge interior one would expect from one of the most notable contemporary art galleries in the country.
The drawings in the "A$$holes on Cell Phones" series are based on actual overheard conversations -- or at least snippets of conversations -- spoken in fast food restaurants, theaters, and even the opera. Dennis turns a spotlight on the strange power technology has, making us thoughtless and insensitive towards our surroundings and the privacy of other people. In style, the paintings strikingly reflect the stark comic strip framing of Roy Lichenstein's work, as well as his caught-in-mid-speech dialogue bubbles.
"The way I learned to draw was through comic books," Marc Dennis recently told the Santa Fe New Mexican. "I would copy everything -- from Sgt. Rock to Captain America to Archie comics. I did this probably right up to high school, when I went in a different direction and discovered Robert Crumb. All my life I've had a fascination and incredible respect for comic-book art. There are particular artists, such as Jack Kirby, I hold up as high as I would Titian, Caravaggio, and Picasso..."
Marc Dennis works from his studio in Brooklyn, NY and is represented by the Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in New York City. His paintings can be found in numerous private and public collections throughout the world. Besides being a professional artist, he is also an active, independent Holocaust scholar, and has brought attention to the clandestine art made by Nazi concentration camp prisoners. He works also as a filmmaker, and one of the nation's leading entomophagists (someone who eats bugs).